346

Roman Emp., Nero Augustus, Sestertius ca. 64

Currency:CHF Category:Coins & Paper Money / Coins: Ancient Start Price:12,000.00 CHF Estimated At:15,000.00 - 18,750.00 CHF
Roman Emp., Nero Augustus, Sestertius ca. 64
The sign-up for this auction will close 48 hours before the auction starts. Please make sure you sign up on time. Also, there is NO ABSENTEE BIDDING for this auction. Please plan to bid live during the sale.
The Roman Empire, Nero Augustus, 54 – 58, Sestertius ca. 64, Æ 27.85 g. NERO CLAVD CAESAR AVG GER P M TR P IMP P P Laureate head r., with aegis. Rev. AVGVS – TI Bird’s eye view of Ostia’s harbour. At the top pharos surmounted by statue of Neptune, holding sceptre; at bottom, reclining figure of Tiber l., holding rudder and dolphin; below, S POR OST C. To l. crescent shaped pier with portico. To r., crescent-shaped row of breakwaters. In the centre, seven ships. C 37. BMC 131. RIC 178. CBN 299. Very rare. A very attractive specimen of this celebrated issue, well centred on a very broad flan and complete. A bold portrait and a finely detailed reverse, brown patina and about extremely fine / extremely fine As an inland city of more than one million people during the reign of Nero, Rome relied heavily upon its Tyrrhenian Sea port at Ostia. Antioch, the great metropolis in Syria, was similarly positioned, as it was about the same distance (c. 15 miles) from its Mediterranean port at Seleucia. Though essential to major inland cities, ports and harbours were perhaps the most challenging of all engineering projects, and they were very costly to build and to maintain. It comes as no surprise that when great ports were completed, it was cause for celebration. To Romans, such occasions not only affirmed their international renown as engineers, but also represented a new opportunity to reap benefits in transportation, trade, grain supplies and military applications. The construction of a port at Ostia had been considered by both Julius Caesar and Augustus, but the projected expenses were so daunting that it was not until Claudius came to power that construction began; finally, it was finished during the reign of his adoptive son Nero.